Kalimán “The Incredible Man” He faced countless villains: vampires, space pirates, undead. However, the Mexican hero also fought a legal fight against an American colossus: Marvel Comics.
This character was one of the most emblematic for the generations of our dads, moms and uncles. But let's learn a little more about who this great hero was.
Who was Kalimán?
Kalimán “The Incredible Man” was created in Mexico in 1963 by Rafael Cutberto Navarro and Modestro Vázquez González. This story was originally a radio soap opera, it told the adventures of a prince from India and his faithful companion, Solín.
HoweverKalimán was well received by the Mexican public So the story was adapted to comic book format, just two years after its release. The first scripts of this “new life” on paper were written by Héctor González Dueñas and Clemente Uribe Ugarte.
This hero wears a white outfit with a cape and a turban with the letter “K” embedded in a gem. To combat the villains he does not use weapons, as Kalimán has mystical powers such as telepathy, telekinesis, levitation, voice projection, astral travel, to name a few.
Mystery is another of this character's main companions. According to legend, the hero is the adopted son of an Indian prince.. Kalimán traveled the world in search of adventure until he arrived in Tibet, where he developed his mind and physique to the maximum..
Since he acquired his powers, he dedicated himself to fighting against injustice, always in the company of Solín, his young Egyptian friend.
The comic was quite successful from the beginning, since for the first issue of the comic there was a circulation of 500 thousand copies.
Instead, The success also caught the attention of Marvel Comics, who launched a legal battle against Kalimán. What was the problem?
The battle against Marvel Comics
The popularity of the Mexican comic was such that Marvel Comics filed a lawsuit against the Mexican company Promoter K.
Hence, In 1974, Marvel filed a lawsuit over the use of the phrase “The incredible man”, which was part of the title of Kalimán's comics.
The American publishing house claimed that they had the rights to the title “Incredible Hulk” (The Incredible Man, in Spanish) since 1962.. This was a year before the creation of Kalimán's radio soap opera and three years before its publication in comic form.
However, the Mexican company did not give in to the battle waged by Marvel, so they went to trial.
The verdict
This process lasted just a few months. The verdict was in favor of Kalimán, because although Marvel had the rights to the title, he did not use it until 1968. Under this scenario, Promotora K could not be accused of plagiarism.
And if that had not been enough, after the verdict, Marvel had to pay the Mexicans to obtain the title that unleashed everything.
After this battle, some of the villains like Galactus, Dr. Doom and even one of the Fantastic Four, The Thing, appeared on the covers of Kalimán. This could be interpreted as a metaphor for the legal battle that ended in favor of the Mexicans.
Finally, after the lawsuit, Kalimán “The Incredible Man” It was published for 17 more years, reaching 1,351 issues. It would be in 2016 when the first issue was reissued, to celebrate 50 years of the comic.
By Arturo Cuevas
Unknown Mexico México Desconocido is the tourist medium with the greatest tradition and the most visited travel network in Mexico. We want to spread our passion for the most authentic things about Mexico.